Markus Kennedy

Equestrian: It came down to the final ride, but the equestrian team pulled out an upset over top-ranked Georgia at the Sleepy P Ranch on Sunday, Oct. 26. The win helped SMU climb to No. 6 in the latest NCEA poll. The Mustangs and Bulldogs were tied 9-9, but SMU outscored Georgia 1525.25-1350 in raw score. Junior Alex Butterworth earned Most Outstanding Player honors with an 80-68 victory in Hunt seat competition. The Mustangs travel to South Dakota to face South Dakota State on Friday, Oct. 31 and No. 10 New Mexico State on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Men’s Basketball: The Mustangs were picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference preseason coaches’ poll, just two points behind defending conference champion and national champion, UConn. The Huskies received six first place votes, with SMU taking the remaining five. Juniors Nic Moore and Markus Kennedy were selected as unanimous all-conference first team selections. The first AP Poll of the 2014-2015 season will be released on Friday, Oct. 31. SMU begins their season on Nov. 14 at Moody Coliseum against Lamar.

Cross Country: SMU heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma seeking their fourth straight conference championship in the American Athletic Conference championship on Friday, Oct. 31. The 6K race will begin at 10:00 a.m. CT at the Mohawk Sports Complex. Six Mustangs finished in the top 11 spots in last year’s championship, and coach Cathy Casey was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

Rowing: The rowing team posted a pair of first-place finishes in the Open Double Scull and the First Novice 8+ races at the Head of the Colorado in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Oct. 25. The Mustangs occupied four of the top five spots in the Open Double Scull with crews finishing first, second, fourth and fifth. The victory in Novice 8+ was the second of the season after a win at the Head of the Oklahoma. SMU picked up two more top-three finishes with a second place finish in the Novice 4+ and a third place finish in the Second Novice 8+.

Men’s Golf: No. 20 SMU rose two spots in the final round at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate on Tuesday, Oct. 28, finishing ninth overall. Freshman Ben Baxter and junior Bryson Dechambeau led the Mustangs with scores of 223, tying them for 28th individually. SMU struggled in the second round with a team score of 380, but made a 14-stroke turnaround in the final round. The Mustangs play next at the Gifford Collegiate in Newport Beach, California. The three-day event begins Monday, Nov. 3.

Women’s Swimming and Diving: The Mustangs are ranked No. 11 in the first College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Poll after a third place finish at the SMU Classic and posting 15 times that ranked in the top-10 in the country. SMU is back in action against Rice on Friday, Oct. 31 at 7:00 p.m. CT and against Houston on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 1:00 p.m. CT at the Mansfield Natatorium.

Men’s Swimming and Diving: The men’s swimming and diving team opens its 2014-2015 season with the North Texas Swimming A Meet in Frisco, Texas that begins on Friday, Oct. 31 and concludes Sunday, Nov. 2. The Mustangs are coming off a second place finish in the American Athletic Conference championships. SMU returns seven all-conference performers, and welcomes in an impressive freshman class.

Women’s Golf: The women’s golf team had its best finish on the last day of the Alamo Invitational on Tuesday, Oct. 28, which earned the Mustangs an eighth place finish. Junor Alexandra Rossi and senior Jennifer Park (pictured left) finished the tournament at 3-under for a share of 11th place. The event was their final of the fall, and they will resume play on Sunday, Feb. 8 in the UCF Invitational.

Men’s Soccer: A pair of second half goals lifted UConn over No. 24 SMU on Saturday, Oct. 25 in Storrs, Connecticut. The Mustangs are winless in their last three matches and have fallen to fourth place in the American Athletic Conference heading into the final game of the regular season. SMU was outshot 22-11, and freshman goalkeeper Michael Nelson was forced to make eight saves, matching his career high set in a road loss to Tulsa on Wednesday, Oct. 22. Nelson was honored by the American Athletic Conference as a member of the weekly honor roll for the third time this season. The Mustangs led at halftime after freshman midfielder Benjamin Joseph (pictured right) tallied his second goal of the season, but the lead was quickly squandered in the second half. The Mustangs celebrate Senior Night on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Westcott Field against Cincinnati.

Women’s Soccer: The women’s soccer team fell to Memphis 4-1 on Senior Day at Westcott Field on Sunday, Oct. 26. Seniors , Rikki Clarke, Olivia Elliott, Shelby Redman, Lauryn Bodden (all pictured left) and Rachael Larson (not pictured) were all recognized after the game for their accomplishments and devotion to the program. Bodden recorded five saves in net. The Tigers got out to a 3-0 lead before the Mustangs could find the net. Freshman midfielder Claire Oates headed in a cross from fellow freshman forward Chinelo Odobulu. SMU will face Temple in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference tournament on Friday, Oct. 31 at 3:30 p.m. CT in Orlando, Florida.

Football: SMU was held to just 251 yards of total offense in a 48-10 loss to Memphis at Ford Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 25. The Tigers scored 41 of the first 48 points in the game, storming out to a 21-0 lead and adding another 20 after sophomore running back Prescott Line scored for the Mustangs. SMU enters another off week before traveling to Tulsa, Oklahoma to face off with Tulsa on Saturday, Nov. 8.

Volleyball: The volleyball team recorded 111 digs in a five-set loss to Temple in Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 24, which ranks seventh in program history. All five SMU attackers finished with at least 10 kills, led by junior Abbey Bybel’s 16. Junior Cailin Bula scored 15, sophomore Kristen Stehling recorded 13, and sophomore Janelle Giordano and senior Caroline Young each posted 10. Acker totaled 54 assists for her 16th double-double of the season, and Bybel tallied 17th digs for her 10th of the year. Young posted her sixth of the year with 12 digs, and Bula earned her first of the season with a career-high 15 digs.

The Mustangs continued their road trip with a 3-1 win over Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut on Sunday, Oct. 26. Sophomore Morgan Heise (pictured above) posted 36 digs, which is good enough for fourth all-time in a match at SMU and American Athletic Conference Defensive Player Of The Week honors. With the win, the Mustangs improved their record to 17-5 and 6-4 in the conference. SMU travels next to New Orleans to face Tulane on Friday, Oct. 31 at 1:00 p.m. CT and complete their road trip in Tulsa, Oklahoma against Tulsa on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 1:00 p.m. CT.

The regular season for men and women’s basketball has ended, but Moody Magic has not. Both the men and women have home postseason games this week, the men on Wednesday, March 19 and women on Thursday, March 20.

Men’s Basketball: SMU was chosen as the #1 seed for the 2014 National Invitation Tournament. Their first game on Wednesday is against #8 seed UC Irvine at 8 p.m. UC Irvine won the Big West regular season title, and SMU finished third in the American Athletic Conference. Wednesday’s game will be the first in history between the two teams.

SMU finished the season with a 23-9 record and numerous honors. For the first time in program history, SMU is ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Poll. Sophomore Nic Moore was named to the first team of the American Athletic Conference, U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District Team and the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 25 First Team.

Sophomore Markus Kennedy was also recognized; he was named a second-team honoree for the American Athletic Conference and to the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 25 Second Team.

Finally, Head Coach Larry Brown was named the District VII Coach of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

The winner of Wednesday’s game will play either San Francisco or LSU in the second round. The final game of the NIT is scheduled for Thursday, April 3.

Women’s Basketball: For the first time in program history SMU will host the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. Their first game is Thursday, March 20 against Texas Southern at 7 p.m. This will be the team’s sixth appearance in the WNIT after finishing the season with a 17-3 record.

The women finished fifth in the inaugural season of the American Athletic Conference with several players honored. Senior Keena Mays was named to the first team of the AAC, Senior Akil Simpson was named to the second team of the AAC and Kiara Parry was named to the All-Freshman team of the AAC.

The winner of Thursday’s game will play either Minnesota or Green Bay in the second round. The final game is scheduled for Saturday, April 5.